Mk5 (1997) Rear Lights not working... Please Help.

[Hammer Man]

Hello, the lights on my van were all working perfectly until yesterday. When I turn on my headlights they come on at the front as normal but the dashboard doesn't light up and the tail lights don't come on. All other lights (brake, rear fogs, indicators etc) are working fine. I have checked every fuse and they are all fine. Has anyone experienced this before and if so how was it fixed?

Thanks for reading.

Jimmy.

[ake]

The switch will be faulty

[Hammer Man]

Thanks, is it easy to replace the switch? Is it a job I could do myself?

[MinorMatt]

Depends how confident you are...

Its easiest if you remove the steering wheel but is very possible without (assuming you dont have an airbag) prise out the center and undo the nut with a 22mm or 7/8th socket. Then hammer on the wheel and it will come loose.

Then get a cross head screwdriver and undo the 2 screws in the bottom section of the cowl and the one in the top. The plastic bits will then come away.

You will then be able to see the switches, there are 2 torx headed bolts (I think they are T25 but im not sure) that hold the headlight/wiper switch in place, undo these and the switch will come away, then undo the electrical plug.

To reassemble do the reverse (or in haynes speak assembly is reverse of removal)

But check your fuses are intact before you waste time and money changing a switch

[ake]

Not wanting to contradict you Matt, but I dont think you need to remove the steering wheel

[Hammer Man]

Yeah all fuses are intact.. Will it be just the light stalk or does it come as one unit with the light and wiper stalk together?

[ake]

One unit with both switches, lights and wiper

[Hammer Man]

thanks ake, I'll look on ebay or take a trip to the scrap yard.. Don't suppose you could tell me what kind of price I should pay as I have no idea and won't know if I'm getting ripped off!! lol

[ake]

I have no idea but at the scrappys maybe a ten spot

[Hammer Man]

okey doke, thanks a lot for your help.

[ake]

Nae problem Let us know how you get on

[Vee4]

This happened to me a couple of times. The headlamps are switched through a relay, but the dash lights and rear lights are switched directly via the stalk switch. You will not need to remove the steering wheel, just remove the switch and detach the connector. Examine the connector carefully. I suspect that you will find one of the female contacts is discoloured from overheating. Clean it as much as possible and close the contacts with needle-nose pliers or a small screwdriver. Possibly apply a small amount of 'contact cleaner'. This connector may well be the problem, not the switch itself. The contact is not adequate for the amount of current drawn by the lights, over a long period of time.

[Hammer Man]

Thank you all very much for your help and advice. The problem is now fixed by doing what Vee4 suggested. It took me less that 5 minutes and I was amazed to see when I disconnected the swith that one of the female connectors was discoloured and slightly open as Vee4 said it might be. I cleaned it up and squeezed it tight again before putting it all back together and hey presto!!

So thanks a lot, I appreciate it!

[Trojan]

First post here - just wanted to register to thank the people in this thread. I have just bought a 1993 K, LWB 190 Transit to convert into a camper, and I am sure that I will be reading plenty of threads in order to work out how to get everything working correctly!

(Sadly, the contacts were fine, so will buy a new light/wiper stalk tomorrow, see if that cures my problem - it's the same fault as I had on my old Mk2 fiesta, so I should have remembered how to fix it!).

Edit: Just got a new stalk, fitted it, and it works fine - so thanks all who contributed to this thread.

[toppetsaha]

I know that this is an old thread but i thought id add a bit more info...

I had the same problem, i was driving down the A30 & the Instrument cluseter lights, dash clock, rear lights & lights on top of the cab all went out.

i chased the cables to the back of the van, checking earth points bulbs fuses ect. all looked fine.

i followed the cables to the lights/wiper switch (the red cable is the power to the switch & the red/black cable leads to the fuse box which powers all of the above lights) i put a cable from the red to the red/back cable on the switch & the lights came on! Therefore a dodgy switch.

The steering wheel did not have to come off.

i hope this helps someone as i have just spent 3 hours trying to diagnose the problem!